Industries such as transportation and manufacturing have for years utilized wood articles such as logs, boards, and planking as supports, braces, and separators for various goods or other materials. While wood articles have been known to be durable, they have numerous drawbacks.
Disadvantages include that wood is relatively dense and thus heavy. The weight of wood articles increases transportation costs and reduces the amount of materials which can be transported. A further disadvantage is that wood surfaces are rough and generally uneven which can damage the finish of materials, especially fragile materials, abutted or supported thereby. Moreover, when exposed to moisture, wood articles can warp, becoming unlevel and not suitable for intended uses.
A pallet is a portable platform generally including a planar horizontal member, which can be used as a base member for stacking, storing, handling and transporting materials or goods and generally two or more spacers, stringers, support members, or the like that maintain the base member a distance off of the ground so that they can be moved more easily. Generally, pallets are constructed from wood and nails or staples. Pallets have also been constructed from paper-based materials and plastics. Pallets generally have openings in the structure thereof to accommodate the forks of a forklift truck, or the like, and allow the pallet to be lifted off a floor.
Various methods, constructions and devices have been proposed as means for producing components such as for use in pallets and as wood replacement articles.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,736,074 relates to a lightweight support member or article prepared from corrugated paper which is utilized as a replacement for wood articles such as logs, boards, planks and the like. The support members have a high strength to weight ratio and save on transportation and fuel costs. The support members are constructed as a continuous or semi-continuous, flattened or elongated wind of corrugated paper around a core or central area.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,612,247 relates to a lightweight pallet, which can be manufactured from corrugated paper or similar materials which are recyclable, for carrying goods and materials. The pallet includes an upper deck member, lower deck member and a plurality of support members connected therebetween. The deck members are independently disposed at a horizontal plane substantially parallel to each other as well as a ground surface. The support members are formed from a continuous wind of a single sheet of corrugated paper to provide strength and rigidity to the pallet.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,569,148 relates to an apparatus for forming a pallet spacer from a one-piece blank, the one piece blank having at least a first end and a second end, a retention segment disposed between the first and second ends, the retention segment defining a retention aperture, the second end including a cut-out flange having a hinge, the apparatus comprising a base, a rotating mandrel assembly mounted on the base for wrapping the one-piece blank around itself such that the retention aperture is registered directly adjacent the cut-out flange, the rotating mandrel assembly including a selective engagement means for gripping the first end of the one-piece blank when the one-piece blank is wrapped around itself, a punch for pushing the cut-out flange into the retention aperture thereby retaining the one-piece blank in a coiled shape forming a pallet spacer and a stripper for removing the pallet spacer from the rotating mandrel assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,385,625 relates to an apparatus for manufacturing corrugated pallets from a base panel of corrugated material, a top panel of corrugated material and a plurality of spacer blocks. Each of the spacer blocks is bonded to the base sheet and top sheet. The apparatus comprises a loading station for receiving the base panel and top panel, and a glue applicator for extruding a plurality of continuous sheets of glue to predetermined areas of the base panel and top panel. An assembly station includes a locating system for receiving and locating the base panels, spacer blocks and top panel in relation to the base panel when the top panel is placed upon a plurality of spacer blocks to form the corrugated pallet. A transfer compression station for applying a continuous initial pressure to the corrugated pallet at the base and top panels of the corrugated pallet while simultaneously transferring the corrugated pallet in a horizontal direction is provided, as well as a final compression station for applying a final glue setting pressure to the corrugated pallet. A conveyor for transferring the base and top panels from the loading station through the glue applicator is provided, wherein the conveyor also transfers the base and top panels from the glue applicator to the assembly station. The compression conveyor transfers the corrugated pallet from the assembly station to the final compression station.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,853,670 relates to a machine for manufacturing disposable recyclable pallets and comprises a machine framework adapted for supporting a stack of pallet sheets composed of a recyclable material and for supporting a plurality of stacks of pallet blocks which may be composed of wood or other recyclable material. The machine also includes an adhesive system providing adhesive material that is utilized to secure the pallet blocks in assembly with the pallet sheets. The machine incorporates a mechanism for transporting pallet sheets one at a time to a pallet assembly section defined by the framework. The pallet blocks, after being conveyed through the adhesive system for application of adhesive to the upper surface thereof, are positioned by a conveyor mechanism beneath and spaced in relation to the pallet sheet. A mechanism is then manipulated to move the pallet sheet downwardly into assembly with the pallet blocks and to apply sufficient mechanical pressure to the assembly for a predetermined period of time to allow curing of the adhesive material. The pallets manufactured by the machine may have a single pallet sheet or may have double pallet sheets sandwiched about the pallet blocks and may be adjustable to manufacture pallets of differing size.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,513,053 relates to an apparatus and method for making pallets of composite construction, with a plastic polymeric core and outer elements of fibrous sheet material such as corrugated board. The apparatus comprises a conveyor, hopper means for feeding the core to the conveyer, means associated with the conveyor for applying adhesive to the core, severing means associated with the conveyor for dividing the core into a plurality of discrete core elements, moving support means for supporting sheet elements and conveying the elements to a location adjacent the conveyor, transport means for engaging the discrete core elements and transporting the elements in predetermined relation to each other to a sheet element on the conveyor, and means associated with the conveyor for transporting another sheet element into vertical juxtaposition with the discrete core elements and the first-mentioned sheet elements and placing the sheet elements over the discrete elements in contact with the respective faces of the discrete elements. The method comprises the steps of providing a core of plastic polymeric material having a plurality of interconnected discrete segments, severing the core to disconnect the segments, applying adhesive to the respective opposite faces of the segments, spacing the segments by a predetermined distance, placing the segments in spaced relation on a sheet element of predetermined dimensions, and placing a second sheet member of predetermined dimensions in contact with opposite faces of the discrete segments.
In order to produce support members, such as disclosed in the above-noted U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,736,074 and 6,612,247 herein fully incorporated by reference, it would be desirable to provide an automated device capable of rapidly producing high quality support members via mass production in order to lower the cost associated with preparing such a support member. The problem of mass producing support members with repeatable, accurate dimensions is solved by the paper wrapping device of the present invention.